Aberdeen Airport taxi drivers strike
27.02.08
Aberdeen Airport taxi drivers held a lightening strike last night in a protest over new charges to be introduced in August to access the airport grounds. Long queues built up outside the airport as passengers waited their turn for the much depleted taxi fleet to pick them up, as the unplanned action took affect.
Drivers walked off the ranks at 20:00 last night and said they would not resume service until 06:00 today. And passengers should be warned that they have threatened to do the same thing every night until airport chiefs listened to their concerns over new charges.
Airport taxi drivers' committee member Alan Norval said about 90% of Rainbow Airport Taxi drivers chose not to work last night, leaving only four or five cars serving the airport. Extra drivers from ComCabs and Rainbow City cabs helped to make up the shortfall.
The action came just days after Rainbow Taxis announced its fleet of 140 cabs would stop serving the Aberdeen Airport on March 31 after BAA announced drivers face a £1 charge every time they enter the airport from August 1. City-based drivers who pick up passengers at busy times will face a £2 charge.
Mr Norval said last night: ‘We had a fleet meeting at 17:00. It was the overall feeling of all drivers, because BAA are so determined to introduce the barrier fee for all airport drivers, that they have left us with no other alternative but to withdraw our services on a lightning strike basis.’
He said the proposed £1 charge would add up to £100 a week on top of the £114 weekly charge the drivers already pay to pick up at the airport. He said: ‘It was chaos at the airport. It was a very cold night and there were long queues. I felt really sorry for people but we have to make a stand.’
An airport spokesman confirmed that a number of drivers had decided not to operate last night. He said: ‘The disruption was not too bad. There were queues but passengers were not stranded. Some took the bus home.'
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